Can I get out of my lease early because of an error?

[jflores]

Family comes first. If you need to walk out the lease then by all means go ahead. What are they going to do follow you to another state, that would take time and resource which in this day of age there is not enough of it to go around.

[Poltracker]

Originally Posted by mcs2003

Thanks for all the responses. Modster, this clause is written on the front page of the lease, in a highlighted box, in the top margin of the lease. It is right between the TAA and HAA logos centered about 1/2 in. from the top of the page and clearly states the lease isn't valid if filled out prior to Jan.1, 2008. My lease is your typical long, narrow contract and about 6 pages long. It clearly states the early move out fees so I am in no doubt about what the penalties would be if the lease is valid. The property I am in is only about 6 months old and only about 1/2 full so something tells me they won't want to lose a tenant. But after finding this error I just wondered if it would be worth pursing. Maybe a free legal consultation just to find out one way or the other would be the way to go?

That contradicts what you said in your first post. "Prior" means before. You stated that you signed the lease October of 2008...AFTER jan 2008. Even if the document itself was faulty, it would still serve to verify an agreement between you and the LL for a year of rental and would hold up in court IMO.

[Lake Conroe resident]

Originally Posted by jflores

Family comes first. If you need to walk out the lease then by all means go ahead. What are they going to do follow you to another state, that would take time and resource which in this day of age there is not enough of it to go around.

No they won't follow you, they will simply get a judgement for the remaining portion of the lease plus any penalties. Very easy to do; file at the local JP's office. A judgement is just a "post dated check". As soon as the OP gets another job, guess what?

Modster hits it on the head and seems very knowledgeable about the way leases work. The only question here is about the old form being used versus the new template that they are supposed to use now. They promulgate new forms from time to time and some landlords/property managers don't find out about them right way, which sounds like what happened here.
The bottom line is the OP needs to contact an attorney to see if the lease is enforceable because of it being written on an old lease template.

[Lake Conroe resident]

Originally Posted by HookTheBrotherUp

Times have changed since the 20+ years since I lived in an apartment, but back then you could get out of the lease if in fact you were moving out of state. Have you asked about that? I think the other was military service. Perhaps leaving to take care of your <insert relative here> might work.

The only way out without penalties is if you get called up for military service or if you have a court order for domestic violence from a co tenant or occupant.

[Redrover]

C. How can I get out of my lease agreement?

A lease is a binding legal agreement and you may only terminate a lease early for reasons which are permitted by the lease itself. To determine under what conditions you may terminate the lease, look at the language. If the lease says you may terminate if you are transferred, then you may do so. There are, however, two extenuating circumstances (domestic violence and military service) under which you may terminate a lease save for those expressly included in the lease itself. If you break a lease agreement and terminate a lease early, you may be responsible for all damages which the landlord incurs; including rent for the period that he or she was unable to lease the apartment to someone else. The moral of this story is that if you think you may have to terminate your lease, make sure there is a clause permitting you to do so in the lease before you sign it.

This is a passage from a Texas lawyer about tenant rights ;People's Lawyer--Tenant Rights in Texas (http://www.peopleslawyer.net/tenant3.html - broken link). You need to read the lease carefully and if there is a provision in it for the subject of transfers, you would need to provide proof that you have an out-of-state job you need to get to.

[Thexy]

Most of the posters are correct. TAA does have a template and the apartments modify it according to what they feel is necessary (sometimes inserting illegal statutes).

If you absolutely have to move, I would contact the district or office manager and explain the situation (be sure to have your lease discrepancies ready). If they decline, move out.

[modster]

Originally Posted by Thexy

Most of the posters are correct. TAA does have a template and the apartments modify it according to what they feel is necessary (sometimes inserting illegal statutes).

If you absolutely have to move, I would contact the district or office manager and explain the situation (be sure to have your lease discrepancies ready). If they decline, move out.

It is a fill in the blank form, names, dates, rental rate, deposit, that sort of thing. There is a spot for special provisions and I think that is about the only place for them to really modify much.

I would be curious to know what the OP finds out after seeking legal advice.

[mcs2003]

I made mistake in my second post, Poltracker. It says what I said in my first post "This Lease Contract is only valid if filled out before January 1, 2008". Sorry for the confusion. I think I will at least try to seek some legal advice. There are no provisions or clauses whatsoever (that I can find in all that small print!) that allow for early termination of my lease so I am fully aware what the potential penalties will be if I just up and break my lease. I really don't want a black mark on my credit so I need to weigh my options. And if the apartment complex won't budge on the fees, so be it. I just saw this error and thought it might be worth pursuing. From the sounds of things I don't think this mistake will get me out of my lease but I am going to at least have an attorney take a look. Couldn't hurt. I still need to talk to the manager, so who knows, maybe she will be flexible. I just wanted to be prepared when I go see her.

[XodoX]

Let us know what happened.

Texas is one of the worst anti-renter states I know...